Rupert Ormond

Professor Rupert Ormond is a tropical marine ecologist / biologist with a broad range of interests and experience, but with particular expertise in the behaviour and ecology of sharks and other coral reef fish, and in the monitoring and management of marine protected areas. He has previously served as Director of the Tropical Marine Research Unit at the University of York, as Director of the University Marine Biological Station at Millport (managed jointly by the Universities of London and Glasgow), and as Chief Scientist of the Save Our Seas Foundation. At Heriot-Watt University he contributes lectures to the school’s masters courses and supervises masters students’ projects concerned with coral reef ecology and management, or shark ecology and conservation.

During his career Professor Ormond has undertaken research and published papers on a wide range of topics including: Reef Fish Behaviour & Ecology, Coral Reef Ecology, Tropical Marine Fisheries, Marine Protected Area Planning & Management, Mangrove Ecology, Seagrass Ecology, and Sea Bird Behaviour & Distribution. He has a particular interest in the overall functioning and management of coastal ecosystems, especially coral reefs.

He has considerable experience of directing research and conservation programmes in tropical regions, particularly the Middle East (e.g. Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain) and Western Indian Ocean (e.g. Kenya, Pakistan, Seychelles, Maldives). He has also worked in other regions including South-east Asia, Australia, China, and the Caribbean.

He has also acted as consultant for a wide range of international agencies and non-government organisations (such as UNEP, IUCN, UNESCO), National Governments (e.g. Egypt, Saudi Arabia) and large consultancy companies (such as WS Atkins, Komex, and Huntings). He is a director of Marine Conservation International, a partnership formed by marine scientists to enable them to pursue projects with conservation objectives in the most effective way.

Currently he is involved in research on the behaviour of sharks (especially silky sharks and tiger sharks) in the Red Sea (Saudi Arabia) and Indian Ocean (Maldives and Seychelles), on the conservation of reef sharks (including Caribbean reef sharks and tiger sharks) in the Cayman Islands, and the ecology of basking sharks along the west coast of Scotland.

Other recent research has focused on the monitoring and management of corals and reef fishes in Egypt, and the distribution of corals and reef fishes in Pakistan. He has also in recent years assisted in studies of whales and dolphins, in Pakistan and in the Cayman Islands.